Know It Is From Us
by Giselle Pink
Summary: What Rue's younger sister is thinking when Rue dies. One shot.


**I don't own The Hunger Games. Grub monkeys…**

Rue had been loved in District 11. She was the girl who hopped from tree to tree, singing her songs to the birds. Not everybody knew her name, but they knew her face. Everyone was expecting Rue, my lovely older sister, to die. Not because she was weak, but because District 11 had that sort of rotten luck.

When she did die, you could almost feel the air lose any joy or hope it contained. She was lying there curled and twitching, as the boy, from District 1, who killed her was smiling in victory. Rue called the name of the girl from District 12.

The girl wouldn't come. The girl who caused Rue's death indirectly would probably be laughing right now. Happy another threat to her survival was gone.

But something unexpected happened, the girl came running, screaming,

"Rue, Rue! I'm coming!" I can hear hope, fear, sadness and guilt in her voice, I bet she's acting, or maybe the tone of her voice is something else. She comes into the clearing and starts shaking with anger. She shoots the boy who killed Rue with an arrow right in the neck. I don't trust this girl yet, but I'm happy in the slightest that he's dead. The happiness is ruined by the fact the girl is still alive while my sister is dying

"Are there more?" The girl asks, rubbing her ear. I can see blood dried up next to it. It must have happened in the explosion. This girl will not survive another day without her hearing. I hope she lost it forever.

Rue repeats "No," many times, and I know now the girl can barely hear. I smile and think _good_, as the District 12 girl rushes up to Rue.

"You blew up the food?" My sister asks whispering,

"Every last bit of it." The girl says, to sad for her words.

"You have to win." Rue says. Rue, oh, Rue, please don't say that. This girl has to lose. She has to.

"I'm going to," the girl promises, "Going to win for both of us now."

The 'both of us' bit threw me off. I didn't trust her now. I bet the girl would laugh as soon as the cannon symbolizing my sister's last breath fired.

"Don't go," My sister says, as I think, _go now._

"Course not. Staying right here," The girl says, and I see a tear run down her cheek. It's the type of tear that seems thick and slow, as if she trying not to cry. For some reason my throat feels dry and clogged. Even more than it did a moment before. The girl lifted Rue's pretty head into her lap and strokes her hair. And Rue says one word,

"Sing,"

I start sobbing at this. Rue should be singing somebody into rest, not being sung to. I hope this girl is good, because if she's tone deaf I'd go all the way there to slap her for making the last sound my sister hears a bad one.

The girl hesitates, and I can tell she doesn't like singing, but despite this she opens her mouth and sings quietly. She's good, but it's ruined by the fact she's crying and choking every sentence or two,

"_Deep in the meadow, under the willow _

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow _

_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes _

_And when again they open, the sun will rise."_

I know this song, it a very old one. It fits Rue perfectly, and before I know it, I'm singing along with the girl I no longer hate.

"_Here's safe, here's warm_

_Here the daisies guard you from every harm_

_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true_

_Here is the place where I love you."_

Rue.

Her eyes flutter closed and the cannon fires, but the girl keeps singing. The look on her face is sadness and determination. Knowing she has to win for my sister now.

The girl looks over to wild flowers near to her. They're beautiful. They're Rue's favorite, second to only Petunias, the flowers I was named after.

The girl, still crying, covers Rue in flowers, covering the ugly wound, braiding flowers in her hair, anything she can do, she did.

The girl does the salute-like blowing of a kiss the people of District 12 gave to her when she took her sister's place in the games.

The air again changes, it's filled with respect.

She takes the pack of Rue and the boy from District 1. Seeming to think it's what Rue would have wanted. She was right of course.

Soon, everyone in District 11 gathers in the town center. We are affected by what she did. We can feel that the girl was truthful. We can feel she did it to show Rue was more than just a stupid piece in their stupid game.

Everyone gives whatever money they have on hand. When we look, it only enough to buy bread, so we buy one piece of our district's bread, hoping she knows it's from us hoping it helps her.

We bow are heads in silence for Rue. I keep on crying, the same as my family. The people of the district cry as well, but they'll eventually stop. I can almost feel them thinking, _Thank goodness it wasn't my daughter,_ but feeling sad about the girl who was like a bird too.

Eventually we all go back to watching the games. It's either that or work, and everybody would pick anything over that. This is why they work extra hard the week before The Hunger Games.

I see the girl getting the silver parachute while she's in a tree, you can barely tell, because, well, she's up in a tree.

She opens the package with a confused look on her face. And then she climbs down the tree, lifting up the bread slightly, nodding her head, and eating it halfway, she then saves the rest.

She knows it was from us.


End file.
